Image display device, image pickup apparatus, image display control method, and program

ABSTRACT

An image display device includes a display unit configured to display at least an image and an icon relating to a predetermined setting, a touch panel which allows input of operations, and on which a predetermined inhibited area is set, and a control unit configured to perform control so that, after the control unit sets the predetermined inhibited area, when an operation has been input by the touch panel, the control unit determines whether or not the operation has been input within the predetermined inhibited area, and, in a case where the operation has been input within the predetermined inhibited area, by erasing the icon displayed by the display unit, a user is allowed to recognize that an unintended operation has been input within the predetermined inhibited area.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and is based upon and claims thebenefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 for U.S. Ser. No. 12/117,988,filed May 9, 2008, and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C.§119 from Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2007-171248, filed Jun. 28,2007, the entire contents of each which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to image display devices for displaying,for example, images and icons concerning various settings, etc., and, inparticular, to an image display device, an image pickup apparatus, animage display control method, and a program that prevent unintendedsetting and unintended operation with an operation input unit such as atouch panel.

2. Description of the Related Art

Image pickup apparatuses of the related art, such as digital stillcameras and digital video cameras, have liquid crystal panels such asliquid crystal displays. The image pickup apparatuses can also displaynot only picked-up images but also predetermined icons concerningvarious settings. In addition, nowadays, there is an image pickupapparatus including an operation input unit such as a touch panel. Bytapping any position on the touch panel, a predetermined operation canbe input. In this case, in the image pickup apparatus, the touch paneland a liquid crystal panel constitute a touch screen.

As described above, in the case of an apparatus that can perform varioustypes of setting by using, for example, an operation input unit such asa touch panel, how to solve a problem of unintended operation becomes animportant issue.

In view of this issue, Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2005-039582 discloses a technology in which, when adisplacement of a display panel occurs within a predetermined time fortiming of operating a touch-panel operation button, such a state isdetermined to be unintended operation and a resultant action is negated,whereby, in a case where an operation on an operation button isunintentionally performed when performing a display-panel-angleadjusting operation, action based on the operation is negated and animage pickup apparatus is restored to a state prior to the unintendedoperation. According to the technology, even in the case ofunintentionally operating an operation button when tilting a displaypanel which has operation buttons thereon and which is provided on animage pickup apparatus body so as to be tilted, a resultant malfunctioncan be prevented and an appropriate operating state can be ensured.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the above-described example of the related art, by tapping varioustypes of icons displayed on the touch panel, desired settings can beperformed. However, in a case such as when a targeted icon is tapped bya user, with the touch panel unknowingly touched by a user's finger,there is a possibility of an unintended setting or operation.

In this regard, the technology, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication No. 2005-039582, relating to the image pickupapparatus, determines whether or not the unintended operation has beenperformed on the basis of a relationship with the displacement of thedisplay panel. However, the disclosed technology does not detect anddoes not prevent an unintended input to the touch screen regardless ofthe displacement of the display panel.

It is desirable to prevent a mistake such as an unintended setting oroperation in such a manner that, in a situation in which an unintendedoperation has been input by a user from an operation input unit such asa touch panel, the user is allowed to recognize the situation.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is providedan image display device including a display unit configured to displayat least an image and an icon relating to a predetermined setting, atouch panel which allows input of operations, and on which apredetermined inhibited area is set, and a control unit configured toperform control so that, after the control unit sets the predeterminedinhibited area, when an operation has been input by using the touchpanel, the control unit determines whether or not the operation has beeninput within the predetermined inhibited area, and, in a case where theoperation has been input within the predetermined inhibited area, byerasing the icon displayed by the display unit, a user is allowed torecognize that an unintended operation has been input within thepredetermined inhibited area.

Therefore, when the operation has been input by the touch panel, in acase where the operation has been input within the inhibited area, thecontrol unit detects the status as unintended input operation. Byerasing the icon displayed by the display unit, a user is allowed torecognize the unintended input operation.

The control unit may control the display unit to erase the displayedicon and to display a predetermined alert.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided an image pickup apparatus including an image pickup unitconfigured to obtain an image signal by picking up an image of asubject, a display unit configured to display at least a picked-up imagebased on the image signal and an icon relating to a predeterminedsetting, a touch panel which allows input of operations, and on which apredetermined inhibited area is set, a control unit configured toperform control so that, after the control unit sets the predeterminedinhibited area, when an operation has been input by using the touchpanel, the control unit determines whether or not the operation has beeninput within the predetermined inhibited area, and, in a case where theoperation has been input within the predetermined inhibited area, byerasing the icon displayed by the display unit, a user is allowed torecognize that an unintended operation has been input within thepredetermined inhibited area.

Therefore, when an operation has been input by using the touch panel, ina case where the operation has been input within the inhibited area, thecontrol unit detects the status as unintended input operation. Byerasing the displayed icon relating to the predetermined setting, a useris allowed to recognize the unintended input operation.

The control unit may control the display unit to erase the displayedicon and to display a predetermined alert.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided an image display method including the steps of: displaying atleast a picked-up image and an icon relating to a predetermined setting,and performing control so that, after an inhibited area is set on atouch panel, when an operation has been input by using the touch panel,it is determined whether or not the operation has been input within theinhibited area, and, in a case where the operation has been input withinthe inhibited area, the displayed icon is erased to allow a user torecognize that unintended operation has been input within the inhibitedarea.

Therefore, when the operation has been input by the touch panel, in acase where the operation has been input within the inhibited area, thecontrol unit detects the status as unintended input operation. Byerasing the icon displayed by the display unit, a user is allowed torecognize the unintended input operation.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a program for causing a computer to perform: an inhibited areasetting function that sets an inhibited area on a touch panel, a maincontrol function that, when an operation has been input by using thetouch panel, determines whether or not the operation has been inputwithin the inhibited area, and a display control function that, in acase where the operation has been input within the inhibited area,erases a displayed icon to allow a user to recognize that unintendedoperation has been input within the inhibited area.

Therefore, in software processing based a program, when an operation hasbeen input by using the touch panel, in a case where the operation hasbeen input within the inhibited area, the control unit detects thestatus as an unintended input operation. By erasing the displayed icon,a user is allowed to recognize the unintended input operation.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, an image displaydevice, an image pickup apparatus, an image display control method, anda program can be provided in which, in a situation in which anunintended operation has been input by a user from an operation inputunit such as a touch panel, a user is allowed to recognize thesituation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an image display device accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed flowchart illustrating a characteristic process ofthe image display device according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image pickupapparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4A is a front perspective view showing the image pickup apparatusaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4Bis a rear perspective view of the image pickup apparatus according tothe second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart illustrating a characteristic process ofthe image pickup apparatus according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are illustrations of display examples of a touch screenof the image pickup apparatus according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are illustrations of different display examples of thetouch screen of the image pickup apparatus according to the secondembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a different display example of the touchscreen of the image pickup apparatus according to the second embodimentof the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A best mode (hereinafter referred to simply as an “embodiment”) forcarrying out the present invention will be described bellow in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows and illustrates the configuration of an image displaydevice according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image display device includes a control unit 1for performing overall control, an operation input unit 3, a storageunit 4, and a display unit 5. The control unit 1 performs an inhibitedarea setting function 2 a, a display control function 2 b, and a maincontrol function 2 c by reading and executing a control program 2 storedin the storage unit 4. When the control unit 1 performs each of theinhibited area setting function 2 a to the main control function 2 c,the control unit 1 plays roles of an inhibited area setting unit, adisplay control unit, and a main control unit.

The control unit 1 uses the inhibited area setting function 2 a to set apredetermined inhibited area in all regions of a touch panel serving asthe operation input unit 3 in accordance with, for example, aphotographing mode. The “inhibited area” is a predetermined region thatexecutes display control (described later) in a case where an unintendedoperation has been input, such as when a user's finger touches theinhibited area.

On the basis of the above-described setting, a characteristic process ofthe image display device according to the first embodiment will bedescribed in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 2.

First, in step S1, the control unit 1 displays a predetermined operationscreen 100 by using the display control function 2 b. On the operationscreen 100, a plurality of icons 100 a for directing various operationsare displayed. A touch panel region corresponding to a region 100 b onthe operation screen 100 is set to be an inhibited area. In step S2, thecontrol unit 1 uses the main control function 2 c to determine whetheror not an operation has been input via the operation input unit 3.

If, in step S2, the control unit 1 has determined that an operation hasnot been input, the control unit 1 is on standby until an operation isinput. Alternatively, if, in step S2, the control unit 1 has determinedthat an operation has been input, in step S3, the control unit 1determines whether or not the operation has been input in such a mannerthat a finger touches, for example, the inhibited area of the touchpanel or the like as the operation input unit 3. In other words, in stepS3, the control unit 1 detects whether the operation from the touchpanel such as the operation input unit 3 has been input within theinhibited area, that is, whether the input operation is an unintendedinput.

If, in step S3, the control unit 1 has determined (“YES” in step S3)that the input operation is an unintended input operation based on atouch of the finger on the inhibited area (corresponding to the region100 b on the operation screen 100), in step S4, the control unit 1 usesthe display control function 2 b to erase icons displayed on the screenof the display unit 5. Specifically, in this case, as shown in FIG. 1,on a screen 101, all the icons in an icon display region 101 a areerased since an unintended operation has been input on the basis of atouch of the finger on a region 101 b serving as the inhibited area.

In step S5, the control unit 1 uses the main control function 2 c todetermine whether or not the finger has moved away. The control unit 1is on standby until no unintended input operation is detected, that is,for example, until the user's finger moves away from the inhibited area.After that, if the control unit 1 has determined, with the main controlfunction 2 c, that the finger has moved away from the inhibited area(“YES” in step S5), the control unit 1 returns to step S1 and repeatsthe above-described processing. If, in step S3, the control unit 1 hasdetermined (“NO” in step S3) that the input operation is not anunintended input operation based on a touch of the finger on theinhibited area (corresponding to the region 100 b or 101 b), in step S6,predetermined processing is performed on the basis of the inputoperation, and consecutive processing is finished.

The predetermined processing includes various types of processing suchas change of image size setting, change of self-timer setting, andchange of photographing mode setting. The type of processing isdetermined by the control unit 1 on the basis of a selected icon.

As described above, according to the image display device according tothe first embodiment of the present invention, by erasing displayedicons in a situation in which an unintended operation has been input insuch a manner that a finger touches the inhibited area such as the touchpanel as the operation input unit 3, a user can be allowed to recognizethe situation.

In addition, after the icons displayed on the screen are erased,needless to say, alert indicating “UNINTENDED OPERATION HAS BEEN INPUT”may be displayed.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be describedbelow.

FIG. 3 shows and illustrates the configuration of an image pickupapparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

This is such that the above-described image display device according tothe first embodiment is applied to an image pickup apparatus such as adigital still camera or digital video camera. This image pickupapparatus will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image pickup apparatus according to the secondembodiment includes a lens unit 11 including a photographing lens, adiaphragm, and a focus lens. On an optical path of incident light from asubject through the lens unit 11, an image pickup element 12, such as acharge-coupled device (CCD), is disposed. The image pickup element 12,an analog signal processing unit 13, an analog-to-digital (A/D)conversion unit 14, and a digital signal processing unit 15 areconnected in series. The output of the digital signal processing unit 15is electrically connected to the inputs of a liquid crystal panel 17 anda recording device 19.

An actuator 20 for adjusting the diaphragm included in the lens unit 11and moving the focus lens included in the lens unit 11 is mechanicallyconnected to the lens unit 11. The actuator 20 is connected to a motordriver 21 for controlling driving of the actuator 20.

The image pickup apparatus according to the second embodiment includes acentral processing unit (CPU) 23. The CPU 23 is connected to the motordriver 21, a timing generator (TG) 22, an electronically erasable andprogrammable read only memory (EEPROM) 25, a program read-only memory(ROM) 26, a random access memory (RAM) 27, and a touch panel 16. The CPU23 functions as a control unit, particularly as an inhibited areasetting unit, a display control unit, a main control unit, etc., byreading and executing a control program stored in the program ROM 26.

The touch panel 16 and the liquid crystal panel 17 constitute a touchscreen 18.

The recording device 19 is a removable recording medium such as a discsuch as a digital versatile disc (DVD) or a semiconductor memory such asa memory card, and is removably mounted to an image pickup apparatusbody. The EEPROM 25 is used to store various types of information set,data, etc., that are to be held even if power is turned off. The programROM 26 is used to store a program that is executed by the CPU 23, anddata necessary for executing the program. The RAM 27 is used totemporarily store a necessary program and data when the RAM 27 is usedas a work area in executing various types of processing.

In this configuration, by executing the program recorded in the EEPROM25 to control each unit included in the image pickup apparatus, the CPU23 executes predetermined processing in accordance with a signal fromthe digital signal processing unit 15 or a signal from an operation unit24. The operation unit 24 is operated by the user and supplies the CPU23 with a signal corresponding to the user's operation.

Specifically, when any position on the touch panel 16 is depressed insuch a manner that a finger touches the position, that is, when apredetermined operation has been input by the user, the coordinates ofthe depressed position are detected by the touch panel 16, and a signalrepresenting the coordinates is sent to the CPU 23. The CPU 23 acquirespredetermined information corresponding to the coordinates and executespredetermined processing on the basis of the acquired information.

When the light from the subject is incident through the lens unit 11,the image pickup element 12 performs imaging on the light from thesubject, performs photoelectric conversion, and outputs an analog imagesignal. At this time, the motor driver 21 drives the actuator 20 underthe control of the CPU 23. The driving allows the lens unit 11 to beexposed from or accommodated in a housing of the image pickup apparatus.In addition, the driving performs adjustment of the diaphragm includedin the lens unit 11 and movement of the focus lens included in the lensunit 11.

Under the control of the CPU 23, the timing generator 22 supplies atiming signal to the image pickup element 12. The timing signal controlsan exposure time or the like of the image pickup element 12. The imagepickup element 12 operates on the basis of the timing signal suppliedfrom the timing generator 22, whereby the image pickup element 12receives the incident light from the subject through the lens unit 11,performs photoelectric conversion, and supplies the analog signalprocessing unit 13 with an analog image signal as an electric signalaccording to the amount of the received light. Under the control of theCPU 23, the analog signal processing unit 13 performs analog signalprocessing (such as amplification) on the analog image signal suppliedfrom the image pickup element 12, and supplies a resultant image signalto the A/D conversion unit 14.

After that, under the control of the CPU 23, the A/D conversion unit 14performs A/D conversion on the analog image signal from the analogsignal processing unit 13, and supplies a resultant digital image signalto the digital signal processing unit 15. Under the control of the CPU23, the digital signal processing unit 15 performs digital signalprocessing, such as noise reduction, on the digital image signal fromthe A/D conversion unit 14, and supplies a resultant signal to theliquid crystal panel 17 for display.

The digital signal processing unit 15 compresses the digital imagesignal from the A/D conversion unit 14 on the basis of, for example, theJPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) standard, and supplies andrecords the resultant compressed digital image signal as data in therecording device 19.

In addition, the digital signal processing unit 15 decompresses thecompressed image data recorded on the recording device 19, and suppliesresultant image data to the liquid crystal panel 17. In other words, thedigital signal processing unit 15 supplies image data from the A/Dconversion unit 14 to the liquid crystal panel 17, whereby a so-called“through-the-lens-image” is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17. Inaddition, under the control of the CPU 23, the digital signal processingunit 15 generates a focus frame (auto focus (AF) frame) image for use infocus control, and supplies and displays the image on the liquid crystalpanel 17.

After that, when the user depresses a shutter button that is included inthe operation unit 24, the operation unit 24 supplies a release signalto the CPU 23. After the release signal is supplied to the CPU 23, theCPU 23 controls the digital signal processing unit 15 to compress theimage data supplied from the A/D conversion unit 14 to the digitalsignal processing unit 15, and to record the compressed image data inthe recording device 19.

The image pickup apparatus has an AF function. In the second embodiment,an AF frame is set on an image picked up by the image pickup element 12,and focus is controlled on the basis of an image in the AF frame. Withthe AF function, the AF frame can be set at any position on an imagedisplayed on the liquid crystal panel 17. In addition, only by executingan operation on the touch panel 16 integrated with the liquid crystalpanel 17, the position, size, etc., of the AF frame can be controlled.AF processing is realized in such a manner that the CPU 23 reads andexecutes the program in the program ROM 26.

What is characteristic is the following point. Specifically, the CPU 23sets an inhibited area on the basis of a set mode by reading andexecuting the control program in the program ROM 26. When an operationhas been input from the touch panel 16, the CPU 23 determines whether ornot the operation is an unintended operation input in such a manner thata finger touches the inhibited area. If the operation is an unintendedinput operation, the CPU 23 erases icons displayed in an icon displayregion on the screen, inhibits various settings via icons, and allowsthe user to recognize that the unintended operation has been input. Atthis time, the CPU 23 erases the icons, and may allow the user torecognize the unintended input operation by displaying predeterminedalert.

In addition, needless to say, icons which are displayed in an upperportion or the like in a display region of a picked-up image and whichindicate various settings and situations may be erased.

Next, FIGS. 4A and 4B show and illustrate an exterior of the imagepickup apparatus according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4A is a front perspective view of the image pickup apparatus, andFIG. 4B is a rear perspective view of the image pickup apparatus.

A front face of the image pickup apparatus is covered with a lens cover57. When the lens cover 57 is downwardly opened, a photographing lens 55and an AF illuminator 56 that are included in the lens unit 11 areexposed. The AF illuminator 56 is also used as a self-timer lamp. On atop face of the image pickup apparatus, a zoom lever (TELE/WIDE) 51, ashutter button 52, a playback button 53, and a power button 54 aredisposed. In addition, the touch screen 18 is provided on a rear face ofthe image pickup apparatus. The zoom lever 51, the shutter button 52,the playback button 53, and the power button 54 are included in theoperation unit 24.

A characteristic process of the image pickup apparatus according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention will be described below indetail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5. Here, FIGS. 6Aand 6B are referred to, if necessary. The following example processcorresponds to an image display method according to the secondembodiment.

When a photographing mode is set (step S11) in such a manner that anicon on the touch panel 16 is tapped, the CPU 23 sets an inhibited areaon the basis of the set photographing mode (step S12). For example, inthis image pickup apparatus, a desired size can be selected from amongthe photographing image sizes “16:9” (1920×1080 pixels), “4:3”(2592×1944 pixels), “3:2” (3264×2448 pixels), etc. Considering that thedisplay form of a through-the-lens-image of a picked-up image differsaccording to each mode, the inhibited area can be set on the basis ofeach size. After the inhibited area is set in the above manner, the CPU23 displays a predetermined operation screen on the touch screen 18(step S13).

The displayed operation screen, that is, an operation screen 200, is asshown in FIG. 6A. On the operation screen 200, icons 200 a to 200 d fordirecting various operations are displayed. In addition, a touch panelregion corresponding to a region 200 e of the operation screen 200 isset as an inhibited area.

Specifically, the icon 200 a represents an image size setting. Inparticular, with the icon 200 a, a still image size can be selected fromamong “8M” (3264×2448 pixels), “3:2” (3264×2176 pixels), “5M” (2592×1944pixels), “3M” (2048×1536 pixels), “VGA” (640×480 pixels), “16:9”(1920×1080 pixels), etc. The icon 200 b relates to flash mode setting.The icon 200 c relates to setting of a macro/super-macro mode. The icon200 d relates to self-timer setting. For brevity of description, onlysome icons are shown. Accordingly, obviously, actually used icons arenot limited to the shown icons.

At the position of the icon 200 a, an icon concerning moving image sizeselection can be displayed although the icon is not shown. In this case,a moving image size can be selected from among the moving image sizes,“Fine” (640×480 pixels; approximately 30 frames/second), “Standard”(640×480 pixels; approximately 17 frames/second), “Presentation”(320×240 pixels; approximately 8 frames/second), etc.

Next, in step S14, the CPU 23 determines whether or not an operation hasbeen input via the touch panel 16. If, in step S14, the CPU 23 hasdetermined that the operation has not been input, the CPU 23 is onstandby until an operation is input. Alternatively, if, in step S14, theCPU 23 has determined that the operation has been input, in step S15,the CPU 23 determines whether or not the operation has been input insuch a manner that the inhibited area on the touch panel 16 is touchedby a finger.

If, in step S15, the CPU 23 has determined that the operation has beeninput in such a manner that the inhibited area on the touch panel 16 istouched by the finger, that is, that the operation input is anunintended operation input in such a manner that the inhibited area (forexample, corresponding to the region 200 e on the screen 200) is touchedby the finger (“YES” in step S15), in step S16, the CPU 23 erases theicons displayed on the touch screen 18. In other words, in this case, asshown in FIG. 6B, all icons in icon display regions 201 a and 201 b areerased since, on a screen 201, an unintended operation has been input insuch a manner that a region 201 c as an inhibited area is touched by afinger. In addition, the icons 200 f, shown in FIG. 6A, concerningvarious settings and situations, are erased together.

If the operation is not an unintended operation input in such a mannerthat the inhibited area 201 c is touched by the finger (“NO” in stepS15), in step S20, the CPU 23 performs predetermined processing andproceeds to step S17. In step S17, the CPU 23 determines whether thefinger has moved away from the inhibited area 201 c. The CPU 23 is onstandby until the unintended input operation is not detected, that is,for example, until the user's finger moves away from the inhibited area201 c. After that, if the CPU 23 has determined that the finger hasmoved away from the inhibited area 201 c (“YES” in step S17), in stepS18, the CPU 23 determines whether or not a release switch that isincluded in the operation unit 24 has been turned on.

Here, if the CPU 23 has determined that the release switch has beenturned on (“YES” in step S18), in step S19, the CPU 23 performs imagepickup and recording, and finishes the process. At this time, needlessto say, after predetermined image processing, or compression encodingsuch as JPEG processing, is performed on an image signal generated byimage pickup, the processed signal is recorded in the recording device19.

Alternatively, if the CPU 23 has determined that the release switch thatis included in the operation unit 24 has not been turned on (“NO” instep S18), the CPU 23 returns to step S13 and repeats theabove-described processing.

This image pickup apparatus can be set to a “Spot AF mode”.

In the Spot AF mode, in a predetermined AF detection region, a desiredAF point can be manually set. When the image pickup apparatus is set tothe Spot AF mode, as shown in FIG. 7A, in a screen 300, an AF detectionframe 300 a and an AF frame 300 b indicating a default AF point aredisplayed. Even if an unintended input has been performed from the touchpanel 16 in such a manner that an inhibited area 300 c is touched by afinger, as shown in FIG. 7B, only an AF frame 301 b indicating an AFpoint is displayed.

This is because, when the release button that is included in theoperation unit 24 is depressed even in such a situation, a photographingoperation is made preferentially executable so that a photo opportunityis not missed. If the AF frame 301 b is not displayed in this case, theuser is unable to recognize which point is to be in focus. In this case,the inhibited area can be set within a range that does not reach the AFdetection frame 300 a so that the inhibited area is out of the icondisplay regions 300 d and 300 e.

In addition, when the image size “3:2” is selected, as shown in, forexample, FIG. 8, icon display regions 400 a in a screen 400 are set, andan inhibited area may be accordingly set. In other words, in this case,a plurality of icons 400 b are displayed outside the icon displayregions 400 a, crossing a part of a picked-up image display region 400c. The inhibited area may be set in an upper portion of the right icondisplay region 400 a, the portion having a width of the right icondisplay region 400 a in a horizontal direction of the screen. Also, theinhibited area may be set in a predetermined rectangular range in a topright portion of the screen 400, crossing a part of the picked-up imagedisplay region 400 c.

As described above, according to the first and second embodiments, animage display device, an image pickup apparatus, an image displaymethod, and a program can be provided in which, by erasing displayedicons in a situation in which an unintended operation has been input insuch a manner that a user's finger touches an inhibited area of a touchpanel or the like as an operation input unit, a user is allowed torecognize the situation.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described,the present invention is not limited thereto and may be variouslyimproved and altered without departing the sprit and scope thereof.

For example, in the foregoing embodiments, in a relationship with theshutter button 52, a top right portion of the touch panel 16 which ismost likely to be touched by a finger is set as an inhibited area.However, the inhibited area is not limited thereto. An area that has ahigh possibility that an unintended operation may be input can be set asthe inhibited area. In addition, the inhibited area is not limited to asingle location. Instead, a plurality of locations may be set asinhibited areas.

In addition, on the basis of initial setting performed by the user, anylocation on the touch panel 16 can be set as an inhibited area. Further,the existence of the inhibited area may be displayed on the liquidcrystal panel 17 at the time the power is turned on and at the time aninitial screen is displayed.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. An image display device comprising: a display unit configured todisplay at least an image and a plurality of icons each relating to adifferent predetermined setting; a touch panel configured to receive aninput operation, and on which a predetermined inhibited area is set; anda control unit configured to perform control so that, when an operationis received at the touch panel, the control unit determines whether theoperation was received within the predetermined inhibited area, and,when the operation was received within the predetermined inhibited area,the control unit controls the display to remove at least one of theplurality of icons displayed outside of the predetermined inhibitedarea.
 2. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein thepredetermined inhibited area corresponds to region surrounding at leastone of the plurality of icons.
 3. The image display device according toclaim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to control the displayto remove the at least one of the plurality of icons surrounded by thepredetermined inhibited area upon determining that the operation wasreceived within the predetermined inhibited area.
 4. The image displaydevice according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured tocontrol the display to remove the predetermined inhibited area upondetermining that the operation was received within the predeterminedinhibited area.
 5. The image display device according to claim 1,wherein the predetermined inhibited area corresponds to a bar-shapedregion surrounding a plurality of the icons.
 6. The image display deviceaccording to claim 5, wherein the control unit is configured to controlthe display to remove the plurality of icons surrounded by thebar-shaped predetermined inhibited area upon determining that theoperation was received within the bar-shaped predetermined inhibitedarea.
 7. The image display device according to claim 5, wherein thecontrol unit is configured to control the display to remove thebar-shaped predetermined inhibited area upon determining that theoperation was received within the bar-shaped predetermined inhibitedarea.
 8. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein theimage display device is a digital camera.
 9. The image display deviceaccording to claim 8, wherein the plurality of icons each correspond toat least one of a still image size setting, a flash mode setting and aself timer setting.
 10. An image display method comprising: displayingat least an image and a plurality of icons each relating to a differentpredetermined setting; performing control so that, after an inhibitedarea is set on a touch panel display and an operation is received at thetouch panel, determining whether the operation was received within thepredetermined inhibited area, and, when the operation was receivedwithin the predetermined inhibited area, removing at least one of theplurality of icons displayed outside of the predetermined inhibitedarea.
 11. The image display method of claim 10, wherein thepredetermined inhibited area corresponds to a region surrounding atleast one of the plurality of icons.
 12. The image display methodaccording to claim 11, wherein performing control includes removing theat least one of the plurality of icons surrounded by the predeterminedinhibited area upon determining that the operation was received withinthe predetermined inhibited area.
 13. The image display method accordingto claim 11, wherein performing control includes removing thepredetermined inhibited area upon determining that the operation wasreceived within the predetermined inhibited area.
 14. The image displaymethod according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined inhibited areacorresponds to a bar-shaped region surrounding a plurality of the icons.15. The image display method according to claim 14, wherein performingcontrol includes removing the plurality of icons surrounded by thebar-shaped predetermined inhibited area upon determining that theoperation was received within the bar-shaped predetermined inhibitedarea.
 16. The image display method according to claim 14, whereinperforming control includes removing the bar-shaped predeterminedinhibited area upon determining that the operation was received withinthe bar-shaped predetermined inhibited area.
 17. The image displaymethod according to claim 10, wherein the image display device is adigital camera.
 18. The image display method according to claim 17,wherein the plurality of icons each correspond to at least one of astill image size setting, a flash mode setting and a self timer setting.19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including computer programinstructions, which when executed by a processor of a digital camera,cause the digital camera to perform an image display method comprising:displaying at least an image and a plurality of icons each relating to adifferent predetermined setting; performing control so that, after aninhibited area is set on a touch panel display and an operation isreceived at the touch panel, determining whether the operation wasreceived within the predetermined inhibited area, and, when theoperation was received within the predetermined inhibited area, removingat least one of the plurality of icons displayed outside of thepredetermined inhibited area.